When it comes to young and exciting players to watch on the Pittsburgh Pirates, the focus typically goes right to the starting rotation, and for good reason.
The Bucs will have Gerrit Cole leading the way, followed by Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow waiting in the wings. Even in the field, we immediately think of the young talent in the outfield with Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco.
However, an intriguing name to follow in Pittsburgh throughout 2017 will be first baseman Josh Bell. He did need knee surgery a few weeks ago, but it was a minor procedure and he’s already back on the field getting ready for the regular season.
The power hasn’t necessarily blossomed like some other prospects we’ve talked about recently, but he did have a higher walk rate (13.8%) than strikeout rate (12.5%) in 152 big-league plate appearances last year. Does he have breakout potential, from both a real life and fantasy baseball perspective?
That’s what Garion Thorne and I discussed on FNTSY Sports Network’s The Rotation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXoqoIMTmw4
Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference. Advanced statistics courtesy of FanGraphs, unless otherwise noted.
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About Matt Musico
Matt Musico currently manages Chin Music Baseball, contributes to The Sports Daily and is also an editor for numberFire. In the past, he has also worked for FanDuel and Bleacher Report. He’s a lover of all baseball, especially the Mets.
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